We were approached by a Personal Colour consultant and her husband to enlarge the kitchen at the rear of their property in Haringey, and make it suitable for use as a studio space for her consultancy.
Project details
Location: Haringey, London
Project: Residential extension for studio and kitchen space
Client: Alan and Keiko Cummings
Completed: 2020
Awards: Shortlisted for NLA’s Don’t Move, Improve! 2021
Her existing studio space at the front of the house was south facing, and the changing sunlight throughout the day and year made it hard to maintain colour consistency when she met her clients. As such, the brief emerged for the new kitchen to have no direct sunlight throughout the whole year, while still being an enjoyable space to entertain in.
Her existing studio space at the front of the house was south facing, and the changing sunlight throughout the day and year made it hard to maintain colour consistency when she met her clients. As such, the brief emerged for the new kitchen to have no direct sunlight throughout the whole year, while still being an enjoyable space to entertain in.
The narrow house needed to accommodate a table of 10 people for consultations, and a downstairs shower to futureproof the home. Once complete, the multifunctional use of the space increased during lockdown, with the clients practicing their daily yoga under the soft skylight.
Our response makes use of north light in the new extension, through carefully shaped rooflights which shield the windows from direct sun. The material palette for Overcast House was also developed in response to the client’s wish for there to be no direct sunlight in the new extension. Gold leaf evens out and warms up the north light and sky light that enters the extension from numerous shaped windows and skylights. Meanwhile the soft green beams hover above the space to support the numerous openings.
Creating a well-lit space that is shielded from direct sunlight was an unusual challenge. At the same time, we needed to design a kitchen extension that would work as an artist’s studio.